A Fuzzy-Antlered Deer, and Other Shore Sights

Silver Sands State Park always has lots of interesting things to see. Yesterday morning's shore-side walk featured several cool creatures, but my favorite was this fellow, who had found a nice shady spot in which to browse on some fresh-cut vegetation:

I see White-tailed Deer pretty frequently at this park, but this guy seemed especially calm. He just kept on munching while I walked closer:

Those are some wonderfully velvety antlers you're growing, Mr. Deer!

Finally, he ambled away, but he kept his ears pointed at me and my clicking camera:

At the beach, a cloud of gulls roiled over the Charles Island sandbar:

A frumpy-looking juvenile tern sat on a rock, calling frequently. Perhaps this youngster wandered over from the Least Tern breeding colony at Milford Point, a couple miles down the shoreline? [Update 8/4/13: I suspect now that this was a juvenile Common Tern, although I still don't know for sure.]

A Great Blue Heron stood in the marsh, fitting in so well with the surrounding tall grass:

In the meadow-ish area behind the marsh (near the deer), a female Common Yellowthroat groomed herself in a sunny patch in the middle of a bush:

And perhaps the adult cicada I heard calling from the top of this tree was recently inside this discarded exoskeleton on a lower branch:

Here we are in August, and summer is still going strong!